Officials planning for early releases
From our weekly issue dated November 18, 2009
Hundreds of inmates are scheduled to be released from Oregon’s prisons this fall, but Josephine County officials say that they are prepared to handle the influx.
Earlier this year, the Legislature passed House Bill 3508, which suspended certain provisions of Measure 57 between February 2010 and January 2012. That measure was passed by voters in November 2008, and was intended to increase prison sentences for persons convicted of certain nonviolent drug, property and identity theft crimes.
An estimated 800 criminals will be released early this fall as a result of HB 3508, and more than 4,000 could be let out throughout the next four years. The early release does not apply to violent criminals like rapists and murderers.
Abe Huntley, Josephine County Community Corrections director, said that at the local level, releases are “just about doubling.”
“In a typical month, we would have five to six releases from prison,” Huntley said. “We’re now seeing 10 to 12.”
Those early releases have kept Karen Caskey plenty busy. She is the founder and president of Welcome Home Oregon, a religious nonprofit prison transition program that helps remove barriers from re-entry into the community. It is funded through private donations and grants.
Between 150 and 170 persons typically are released into Josephine County every year, Caskey said. The passage of HB 3508 won’t alter that figure, she said, but meant that Welcome Home Oregon was saddled with two months’ worth of early releases.
“By the time everything made it through the process, some people had already passed their earned time release dates,” Caskey said. “As soon as the paperwork was filled out, those people were released. In a community like Josephine County, with somewhat limited resources, that put an immediate strain on things.”
Welcome Home Oregon’s duties include conducting a reach-in call for every state prison inmate that returns to Josephine County and developing release plans intended to meet their most basic needs. Caskey said that the sudden increase in releases complicated the program’s ability to keep up with its core functions.
“We were not able to conduct reach-in calls,” she said. “In terms of a successful release plan, which includes housing, food, clothing and the barest necessities in some cases, we were faced with being in reactionary mode.”
Advertisement:
Caskey wasn’t alone in feeling overwhelmed by the increased workload. She said that release councilors at the state Dept. of Corrections were “totally trying to play catch-up” due to the changes in policy.
Huntley said HB 3508 “really put pressure on our release officers.” But it also enabled the county to receive its portion of the savings realized from the suspension of Measure 57’s implementation. That figure amounts to $250,000, he said, which will be spent on treatment programs for drug-addicted property offenders.
Such an approach enables community corrections to focus on reducing recidivism, something Huntley said he strongly supports.
“Housing people in prison doesn’t change their behavior, it takes them out of circulation,” he said. “Community Corrections is different in that we provide programs, structure and supervision to change behavior long-term, so we don’t let them out and send them back to the same environment to continue the same operation.”
Caskey said that despite the early rush, the situation has calmed down and is back to normal after a series of short-term adjustments.
“It did make us scramble a little bit, but for the most part, we’ve gotten through that period of time,” Caskey said. “We had a few people who fell through the cracks, but we’ve been able to find them and reach them, and made sure that they ended up with a positive set of goals when they reached the community.
“It was crazy, but it was totally something we were able to handle in a good manner,” she stated.
Advertisement:
